TAYLORSVILLE, Utah -- We know they’re man’s best friend, and one Taylorsville dog proved his loyalty to his owner while trying to stop home intruders. But the German Shepherd mix nearly died when intruders stabbed him several times.

It Wagner could talk, he might tell you he’s been in a world of hurt.

“He was in shock, it looked like he had an infection in some of his wounds,” Jordan Scherk said of when Wagner was carried into the BluePearl Veterinary Partners hospital in Midvale.

He had survived a horrific attack, where he was stabbed multiple times in his neck.

Scherk, an emergency and critical care veterinarian, said the dog also suffered significant bruising. Wagner was just doing what he has practiced his whole life to do, as a trained guard dog.

“He was an on-leash canine. We used to do security work together, and he was my sidekick,” owner Randy Price said.

While Wagner doesn’t do that now, his instincts have extended to his home.